Andy Torbet, Scottish underwater explorer, stunt performer, professional skydiver, and outdoorsman, chatted with Markos Papadatos about his career and latest endeavors.
The late U.S. Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” Andy Torbet is a man who epitomizes this wise quotation.
Background on Andy Torbet
Andy Torbet is a veteran of The British Forces who swapped Bomb Disposal for exploration, adventure and stunts. From exploring deep underwater cave systems and finding lost shipwrecks to freediving with sharks. From scaling sheer mountain cliffs and climbing icebergs to high altitude skydiving and wingsuiting. Whether on an exploratory expedition, TV Documentary or movie stunts it’s always a real adventure.
2025 ‘Dressed to Kilt’ fashion show
A few weeks ago, Torbet was a part of the 2025 “Dressed to Kilt” fashion show.
“It was an honored to be invited in the first place, and Dr. Geoffrey Scott Carroll was as warm and welcoming a host as you can ask for,” Torbet said. “The show itself was great, and so were all of the models; it was an eclectic bunch, and a real camaraderie built up with the people who took part in it, so that was really cool. I got to meet some people that I wouldn’t normally get to meet.”
Daily motivations
Regarding his daily motivations, he shared, “From an exploration point of view, I am definitely motivated by the idea of pushing boundaries, doing new things, and discovering new places. I do a lot of underwater and underground, and it is relatively easy to find places that have never been seen before.”
“I think the phrase exploration has become watered down these days because it is becoming harder and harder to find places to find new places to conduct a genuine exploration, but if you are willing to go underwater, or underground underwater, in the form of cave driving, there are hundreds or thousands of miles of unexplored chambers, so it is very easy to find new things,” he said.
Future plans
On his future plans, Torbet remarked, “My life has always been somewhat unpredictable. You can plan a lot, but things change… what gets in the way are better opportunities that come along. My year, at the end, does not look the same as I thought it might look at the beginning of the year, and normally, it is better.”
“We are pitching for some TV documentary projects with National Geographic. I am heading to Bulgaria to do some film and skydiving stunts and then, we will see from there,” he elaborated.
“I am trying to write up two books right now, so that is taking up a lot of my time,” he added.
Proudest professional moments
On his proudest professional moments, he revealed, “Being in the military, and also my series ‘Beyond Bionic,” which was my idea. I developed it and co-produced it. The purpose of ‘Beyond Bionic’ was to get kids into wildlife, science and technology. It did really well in the U.K., and it got good feedback from parents and teachers. It did very well, and it had a positive impact on everyone.”
From a stunt point of view, he noted that “working on a Bond film was great.” “Also, qualifying to join the British Stunt Register, which has an elite group of stunt performers, so from a stunts point of view, the highlight was joining that,” he elaborated.
Success
Torbet equates the word success with happiness.
“If money, fame, and power make you happy, then cool,” he said. “Find what makes you happy, define that, and then work towards that because that is success. I say the happiest man in the room wins.”
Message for his fans and supporters
For his fans and supporters, Torbet said, “Well, I’ve definitely had supporters. Anybody who is a fan, I really appreciate that. I am just as flawed as everyone else. Be careful of having heroes. Admire someone, respect someone, and even be inspired by someone but don’t assume that they are overall perfect, because you are probably going to be disappointed.
“The mass support has been great, especially from the diving community and from companies who have supported me over the years. I am quite fortunate in that I find motivation in both the positives and the negatives. For the people that support me, I am motivated even more. I want to make sure I am worthy of the faith they’ve showed me,” Torbet concluded.
To learn more about Andy Torbet, follow him on Instagram, and check out his official website.
